


Coming Home

by scifigeek14



Category: Banana Fish, Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-It, M/M, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Post-Canon, but obviously there are references to death violence and rape, i'm not tagging it cus its not explicit, serious spoilers if you haven't read the manga
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-18 17:04:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15490596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scifigeek14/pseuds/scifigeek14
Summary: Don't read summary if you haven't finished manga (or anime)!!...Serious spoilers!.........When Ash had closed his eyes that sunny day in the library, he hadn’t expected to open them again. When Eiji's roommate had told him that there was a handsome American for him at the door, he hadn't expected to see a ghost. After almost two years, two souls find a home in each other and move on.





	Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

> Notes to read before you read:  
> This is your typical fix-it fic because let’s face it, the ending is too damn sad. When I read the manga, the translation I was reading had it so that things spoken in English were translated as normal and the things said in Japanese were translated in brackets. However, for the purpose of this fic, anything in italics was spoken in Japanese originally.

Notes to read before you read:

This is your typical fix-it fic because let’s face it, the ending is too damn sad. When I read the manga, the translation I was reading had it so that things spoken in English were translated as normal and the things said in Japanese were translated in brackets. However, for the purpose of this fic, anything in _italics_ was spoken in Japanese originally.

 

...

 

The tea had just finished steeping when the bell to the front door of their small apartment chimed. Since Eiji was in the process of filling Taka’s cup, Yuuko volunteered to get it. She vanished for only a few moments, long enough for Eiji to finish pouring, before her voice rang out from the hallway loudly.

 _“Eiji-kun!_ ” She shouted, sounding a bit frantic. _“There is a handsome American here to see you!_ ”

Eiji frowned at his tea cup and wondered who could be visiting him from America. He supposed it could be Max or Charlie, but he wouldn’t have described them as handsome—not in comparison to a certain American he had known. He doubted it was any of Sing’s group, since his roommate would have no doubt have said “chinese” despite any apparent American accents. He shook his head and, bringing his tea cup with him, went to greet his guest. Whoever they were, he could at the very least offer them some tea.

He hoped it wasn’t a reporter. Eiji wanted to put everything that happened in America behind him. He’d flown back to Japan before the majority of the news broke, and Charlie and Jessica had managed to keep his name out of the papers in connection to anything having to do with Papa Dino Golzine. He hadn’t even been called in to testify during any of the trials. But, despite that, there had been people who’d seen him with Ash and his gang and a photo of him had still ended up making it to print. Someone had recognized him for his former pole-vaulting fame and he’d been hounded by reporters about his relationship with the late Ash Lynx. It had been a nightmare. His relationship with Ash was the last thing he’d wanted to talk about while he was in mourning. He’d found out from Ibe-san. Stabbed, he’d said. Inner gang violence. Eiji had some idea at who it could have been.

It had been such a shock. Eiji felt like his heart had stopped working properly the moment and hadn’t fully healed since. It still didn’t seem real, a year and a half later. Ash had always seemed immortal to Eiji. There was only one reason Eiji could think of that would cause him to be so distracted as to let himself get stabbed that way, and it haunted him in his sleep to know that it had been his fault.

 _“ Coming!_ ” He called back as he entered the main room. He could sense Taka following behind him, curious to see who his visitor was.

Eiji saw the blonde hair first. When Yuuko moved out of the way, Eiji saw green eyes and a tentative smile. He dropped the teacup to the floor. It shattered and splashed tea on his socks.

 _“ Ohayou gozaimasu_?” The ghost in front of him greeted with clumsy pronunciation.

“Ash?”

…

When Ash had closed his eyes that sunny day in the library—the blurry vision of Eiji’s letter swimming in front of him—he hadn’t expected to open them again.

He woke up in a hospital bed with Charlie staring down at him, as well as a flurry of nurses and armed security guards hovering nearby. A woman at the library, having seen his blood pooling on the floor and table, had run to call 911. He’d been in surgery for three hours and been unconscious for two days. The first thing he’d done was ask about Eiji. Eiji, who had made it back to Japan safely. Eiji, who had heard the news of Ash’s injury from Sing and had tried to come back only to be stopped at the border. Eiji, who Charlie had told Ash would need to be told that Ash had died of his wounds. In fact, everyone was told that Ash hadn’t survived. It had gone out in the papers. There had even been a fake burial for the press. Max had gone and some of his crew and Sing’s gang had shown up too, so he was told. He had only gotten to see the journalists’ coverage of it; it had apparently been very moving.

The papers were sympathetic, painting him as a tragic victim of child prostitution and gang violence. He supposed that was true enough.The Feds offered him a deal which he’d had no choice but to accept. Dino was dead, but they needed a whistleblower to bring down the whole power structure. If he agreed to name names and testify, to help put the whole dirty lot away, he’d receive a lighter sentence and be placed in witness protection. That was why he’d had to die.

And so, he’d sat through trials, endured the glares of politicians, suffered the presence of police, and felt like he was slowly suffocating the entire time. The only thing that had kept him going was updates that Charlie and Jessica brought him of Max (who he hadn’t been allowed to see either) and Eiji (via Ibe). Eiji hadn’t gone back to vaulting, he was sticking with photography, Charlie told him right before he’d gone to serve hard time.

They’d managed to reduce his sentence to six months on the argument that most of his crimes had been committed under the age of eighteen and that his involvement with the mobs, gangs, and drug trades had been involuntary to begin with. He hadn’t had Max to protect him this time, but he had been given a private cell as thanks for his cooperation. He’d made sure to steer clear of anyone his testimony had put in there with him. The six months had felt like six years, and yet it also seemed to fly by in no time at all. He turned nineteen in prison. His only visitor was Jessica, who confided in him after a month that she’d spilled to Max that he was alive. They were making a second go of it.

She’d flown to Japan to see Eiji’s first show. He had shown photos he’d taken of the city. No people, Jessica had said. She took a picture of Eiji for him. Ash had thought that he looked sad. He’d kept the picture under his pillow.

After he got out of prison, he started seeing a shrink.

They moved him out of the city to a small house for rent in the suburbs, told him he was allowed to use his given name since no one knew him by it anyway, got him a part time job. He wasn’t allowed to see Max, not until his probation was done. His probation was a year long. But they warned him several times that if he didn’t “keep his nose clean and stay out of trouble” it would be longer. He wasn’t allowed to keep his gun. It made him twitchy. He would bring a kitchen knife with him to work. His boss found out and he was fired.

It was after that they made him see the shrink. He tried to refuse but that didn’t fly. Jessica told him that Max had talked to the same doctor and she had helped him a lot. Ash suspected that Max was just saying so to make Ash feel better about the whole thing.

The doctor told him to keep a dream journal. She also suggested taking up a hobby or learning a new skill to keep him active. The journal didn’t really help. He had Jessica get him a book on how to speak Japanese. High IQ or no, he’d soon discovered that it was hard to teach oneself a language from a book. He had no idea if he was pronouncing anything correctly at all. It made him miss Eiji even more.

His shrink asked him why he was so interested in Japan. He was reluctant to talk to her about Eiji. Eiji to him was something special he wanted to keep all to himself. But, once he started talking, it felt like the floodgates opened. It seemed like every session was about Eiji after that.

A year later, she vouched for him when his probation was under review, as long as he promised to keep up his dream journal and to write her a letter every once and awhile. It seemed a small price to pay. At age twenty, a month after his birthday, Ash was a free man with a legal ID and passport. For his birthday, Max bought him a one-way ticket to Japan.

They’d contacted Ibe first. Who had been floored to hear the Ash was still alive and actually legally allowed to leave the country. A few days and a long plane ride later, he was in Japan, struggling to translate signs and maps for Max when he was far from fluent himself. A few hours later and he was standing in front of Eiji’s door with his heart about to burst through his chest wondering why _this_ left him feeling more frightened than a knife fight. Ash hated the unknown, he always had.

He pressed the bell by the door and held his breath.

A woman answered the door. Ash hoped that this wasn’t Eiji’s girlfriend. Her smile, when she greeted him, reminded him of Shorter.

 _“Konichiwa,_ ” Ash greeted. “Uh, Eiji’s _house_?” He asked, stuttering in broken Japanese. He could have smacked himself. Suddenly it was like all his months of study had vanished. He couldn’t even remember how to conjugate possessives. If Eiji had been there he would have laughed at him. He probably soon would.

“Ah, English? American?” The girl asked, nodding her head.

“Yes, _hai_!”

“Okay. You look for Eiji-kun?”

“Yes. Is Eiji here?” He asked, hopes rising when she mentioned him by name that he was at the very least in the right place.

“Yes! Come in please. I get him!” She ushered him inside, helping him to bring in his suitcase and bag too, and he remembered to take off his shoes at the door. She smiled encouragingly. Turning, she called Eiji’s name into another room and said something about his being American. There was shuffling and the sound of a chair being pushed out, then footsteps.

Eiji entered, holding a tea cup. His hair was longer, though not quite as long as Ash’s own. He looked older, too—broader, and maybe even a little taller. His eyes widened, the marker of shock. The tea cup slipped from his fingers and shattered against the hardwood floor.

 _“Ohayou gozaimasu?_ ” Ash offered, lifting his hand in a wave. Water pooled in Eiji’s eyes.

“Ash?” He asked, or maybe called to him, his voice breathy.

“Hi, Eiji.” His own voice felt caught in his throat. He wanted to move forward and hug him, but he found himself frozen.

Eiji came to him.

…

Eiji threw himself forward—slipping in the tea bit—straight into Ash’s arms. He buried his fingers in the fabric of his T-shirt and tucked his chin over Ash’s shoulder. Ash didn’t hesitate for more than a second to clutch him back and Eiji shuddered allover at the touch.

“They said you were dead,” He whispered, tears spilling down his cheeks.

“I know,” Ash said, squeezing him tighter. “I’m sorry. I had to be, for a little while at least.”

“I thought I will not ever see you again.”

“I’m sorry. I missed you. I’m sorry.”

Eiji pulled back to look at Ash. He looked almost exactly the same, just older. Ash had never looked young and innocent, per se, but he had looked like a teen. Now, he looked like a man. But he seemed lighter somehow—not calmer—but more at peace. He was crying too, but he was also smiling. Eiji lifted a hand and cupped Ash’s face with his palm.

“Stop saying sorry. You sound Japanese.” Ash laughed.

_“Gomen ne ,” He apologized once more, this time in Japanese, and this time with good humor._

_“You learned Japanese?”_ A look of confusion stole across Ash’s fair features and Eiji couldn’t help but laugh at him. “You are learning Japanese?”

“I’m trying. It’s a hard language!” He complained, shaking Eiji back and forth as he whined. Eiji couldn’t stop laughing and grinning. Ash was alive. Ash was here, in Japan. Ash was speaking Japanese with an American accent and his fingers were gripping Eiji like he was afraid he would disappear. He was pouting and kicking up a fuss.

“You’re here.” Eiji whispered, still blown away by that fact alone.

“I’m here. Can I stay?” He gestured over his shoulder and Eiji pulled out of the hug to look at where he was pointing at a suitcase.

“Yes! Of course! There is not a lot of space, but you can stay in my room.”

“Your English is a lot better.”

“I’ve been also learning. I wanted to visit America again, but now I think maybe not so soon.” Ash took his hand in his and threaded their fingers together.

 _“Eiji-kun, who is this?_ ” Takashi asked, reminding Eiji that his two roommates had been standing there watching the whole reunion.

 _“My first love_ ,” Eiji responded before he even realized what he was saying. At his roommates’ shocked responses, he promptly turned bright red. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Ash just raised his eyebrow at him. “Sorry! This is Ash. We meet in America,” He introduced, turning to face his friends. “This is Yuuko-chan and Taka-kun. We live together. We are friends from school.”

“Takashi,” Takashi introduced himself, offering a hand for a shake. Ash took it.

“Aslan,” Ash answered, using his full name as well. His hand went back to Eiji, only it skipped Eiji’s own hand and went to his waist. Ash tugged him close so that he was pressed up against Ash’s side and he grinned smugly at the duo over Eiji’s shoulder. “I’m Eiji’s boyfriend.”

“Ehh??” Eiji exclaimed, gaping.

“B-boyfriend??” Yuuko stuttered out, her eyes almost as wide as Eiji’s own.

“Ash!”

“What?” Ash asked, an innocent look on his face and mischievous twinkle in his eye.

“When did you become my boyfriend?” He asked, with a playful glare towards the blonde. Ash tilted his head and smiled.

“Well, aren’t I?” He leaned forward and smacked a kiss to corner of Eiji’s jaw as his hand slipped from Eiji’s waist to his back pocket, where he gave his butt a little squeeze. “Sweetie?”

If Eiji hadn’t still been riding the high of Ash’s return, he might have been upset at Ash’s casual affection and the teasing way in which he claimed his role as Eiji’s boyfriend. After all, it had taken months of heartbreak to admit to himself that part of the reason his grief had been so strong had been his regret as never telling Ash the depth of his feelings or acting on them. It didn’t seem fair for him to waltz back into his life as though he’d never left and grab his ass the way he had the first time they kissed.

This kiss on the cheek was only the second time he’d ever kissed Eiji and the first time they had kissed probably didn’t even count as a real kiss. They had hardly even known each other then. That kiss had been impersonal, a transaction made to pass along his message. And, after that, they had become friends and never dared to cross that line no matter how they flirted or held each other close. No matter how many times they saved each other over all else.

The worst part of it all was that, still, Eiji couldn’t tell when Ash was being serious and when he was joking around. So often the two overlapped as a defense mechanism and were so complexly tangled that even Eiji—who prided himself on knowing Ash better than anyone except maybe Skipper or Shorter had—couldn’t separate them out.

“Okay, Eiji boyfriend. You come and have tea,” Takashi ordered, grabbing Ash by his sleeve and dragging him away and toward the kitchen. Yuuko immediately followed. To Eiji, she said, _“ You clean up the mess you made!_ ” And they disappeared into the other room leaving Eiji with Ash’s suitcase, blushing, with tea-soaked socks.

…

Eiji’s room was small and spartan. There was a desk in the corner which was covered in photographs and newspapers. On it was a picture frame with a photo of Eiji and another person who looked like they might have been related to him. There was one framed picture of the New York skyline hung on the wall. Ash had been standing next to Eiji when he’d taken that picture. He wondered if it had been a part of his show. The bookshelf against the wall was stuffed to the brim with books and what looked like a few photo albums. Ash wondered if Eiji had a photo album with pictures of him in it. There was one small bed.

“I thought Japanese slept on the floor,” He said, nodding to the bed.

“I think I got used to a western-style bed while I was oversea,” Eiji explained, settling Ash’s bags down. “I bought one when I got here. Ibe-san helped. My friends thought I was strange. But I can take the floor. You take the bed.”

“No way! We’ll share it. Not like we haven’t before,” Ash denied his offer with a wave of his hand. He hopped up on the bed and laid down, closing his eyes. “Man! I’m stuffed. That food was good! But to be honest, I was so hungry I probably would have even eaten natto!”

“Are you really here?” Eiji asked, instead of responded to Ash’s rambles, his voice quiet and timid. Ash felt the bed dip and when he opened his eyes, Eiji was staring down at him, having sat on the edge of the bed. “I have dreamed of you here, so much.”

“You dreamed about me in your bed?” Ash teased, with a smirk. He knew that wasn’t what Eiji had meant, but the way he blushed implied that his teasing may not have been entirely off the mark.

“Not like that!” Eiji complained, shoving at his shoulder playfully.

“I’m kidding,” Ash placated, “I know what you mean. I’ve dreamed of you too. But I’m here now. So, stop dreaming,” he reached up and tugged at Eiji until he lay down as well, “and hold me.”

 _“Hai_ ,” EIji agreed passively in Japanese.

He laid down on his back and opened his arms, letting Ash come to him. Ash appreciated how Eiji always knew when to be careful and when he didn’t need to be. It had only been in the first awkward phases of their friendship that he had ever accidently crossed a line for the sake of a joke. He knew when to be gentle and soft, unassuming. And, as a result, Ash had found that he was never afraid to let him touch him. Eiji wasn’t like those men. Eiji wouldn’t hurt him. Eiji was safety. Eiji was home. And, in his arms, Ash finally felt like he was home again.

“I missed you,” Ash hummed, pressing his face to Eiji’s collar and inhaling his sent.

“You going to tell about what you did for the year and more when I thought you were dead?”

“Can it wait till tomorrow? I’m tired and full and I just want to cuddle with my boyfriend.”

“Again you say boyfriend. I think I don’t remember you asking.” Eiji’s voice was careful, like he was walking a tightrope, his body still. Ash swallowed thickly before speaking again.

“Would you have said no if I asked?” He asked. It was safer than asking if he’d have said yes.

“I don’t…” Eiji paused and started again, seeming to stumble with his English a bit. “I did not know that you wanted that with me.” He said it carefully, pausing to make sure every word was the right one, so as to not be misunderstood. His hand rubbed lightly up-and-down Ash’s spine.

“I said I don’t want to talk about it all tonight, and I don’t, but one of the things I did when I was pretending to be dead was see a shrink.”

“Shrink?” Eiji repeated, clearly not familiar with the term

“Uh, someone to talk to professionally, like a doctor for your feelings and emotions.”

“Ah! Yes, I understand. I talk to a ‘Shrink’ also, right after I found out about…” He didn’t need to finish the thought. It was clear what he was talking about, and it didn’t matter, Ash wasn’t dead anymore. “Did your doctor help?”

“Yeah, she did. I hated it at first, of course.”

“Of course. You are very private.”

“Yeah. But, she did really help after a while. When I talked about you to her I think she could tell right away that my feelings for you ran pretty deep. She called me out on it and kept poking and prodding until I admitted that I was scared to think I might want to be anything more than friends with you because of my past.

“I felt like, if I ended up being gay, liking a guy, then that meant that they won somehow. That it meant that I had secretly wanted it all that time or that they had changed me, broken me, infected me. And then, the thought that maybe I had somehow spread their filthy influence to you…”

“I understand.”

“Of course you do. Sometimes I think you know me better than I do, Eiji.” He felt Eiji’s chuckle in his chest where he rested his head. “She helped me see that those thoughts weren’t true, and that even if they were it shouldn’t stop me from seeking happiness with someone I care about.”

“I’m glad.” Eiji’s fingers tickled a path up his neck to his hair. Eiji twisted a strand back-and-forth between his forefinger and thumb. For the first time since they laid down, Ash lifted his head to meet Eiji’s eyes. They were kind, understanding, but they burned with a fire that sent goosebumps flashing across Ash’s skin.

“What I’m saying is that I realized that I like you more than any other person in the world and sometimes that means I want to kiss you and tell everyone that you belong to me.”

“I feel the same way,” Eiji said easily, a soft smile painting his face. Ash returned it briefly before letting it flicker away.

“I don’t think that sex is—I mean, maybe one day, but if that is something you want from me—” Eiji stopped him talking by gently covering his mouth with the flat palm of his free hand.

“I want what you want to give to me. I never take. I never even ask. I wait for you just like I wait in Japan for you to come to me. I wait.”

“Even if I can never give you that part of a relationship?” Ash protested, pulling Eiji’s hand away and taking it in his own.

“I was happy as your friend. I am happy as your boyfriend. I just want to stay with you, forever. Just like I promised that time. Remember?”

“I remember. I was being selfish that day. I wanted to keep you all to myself.”

“I am selfish too. I keep your pictures in a box under the bed. I did not want to share you. You were mine.”

Ash tilted his chin up and leaned forward to press a dry kiss to his soft lips. For the first time in his life, he was happy to belong to someone.

…

The doorbell ringing was what woke them up. It rang three times in a row. Ash groaned, rolled over, and smacked Eiji across the face in his sleep. Eiji took that as his cue to get up and answer the door.

“Ibe-san! Max!” He greeted, surprised to see them, especially so early in the morning. He rubbed his eyes just to make sure he was actually seeing them.

 _“Good Morning, Ei-chan_ ,” Ibe greeted.

“Is he here?” Max asked. “Did he get here safe?”

“He’s here. He is sleeping,” Eiji assured them abruptly, not happy having been woken up. “Come in,” He ordered them in. “Shoes off. I will make you coffee.”

Eiji left them to close the door behind them and take their shoes off, stalking into the kitchen and putting on a pot of water to boil. They followed soon after and sat at the table.

“It’s good to see you Eiji,” Max said, smiling.

“You too, but maybe not so early.”

 _“You have more guests, Eiji-kun_ ?” Takashi asked, walking into the room and hiding a yawn _. “Are they staying too?”_

 _“No, they aren’t staying. Sorry if we woke you up. I’ll make you some tea.”_ Eiji frowned at Max and Ibe. “You woke up my roommate.”

 _“Sorry_!” Ibe apologized, starting to stand. Takashi waved him away with a gentle smile and joined them at the table.

 _“Hello, Ibe-San,_ ” He greeted. _“Who is your friend? Did you get an American boyfriend too?”_

 _“No, just a friend. This is Max.”_ Ibe laughed off Takashi’s teasing and introduced Max. “ _He came from America with Ash.”_

“This is my friend, Takashi,” Eiji told Max, handing out cups and setting out a teapot to brew.

“Hello. Sorry to wake you,” Max said with a grin. “I just wanted to check up on Ash and make sure he made it here alright last night. He ran off to see Eiji as soon as we landed.”

Eiji poured the coffee. Lots of cream for Ibe. Eiji used to drink his coffee like that. They hadn’t always had cream available when they were in New York. When they did, Ash’s crew always got to it first. They were bigger and scarier than Eiji, so they got first dibs. Ash drank his coffee black anyway. So, Eiji had started drinking it that way too. He’d kept on doing it after he got back, and he’d thought of Ash every time he did.

He let Max fix his own and poured the tea for Takashi. Then he poured two cups black. One for him and one for Ash. Leaving his on the table, he brought one to his room. Ash was still passed out on the bed, sound asleep. Eiji waved the cup of coffee back and forth in front of his face and giggled as Ash’s nose wrinkled like a bunny.

 _“Okite!”_ He requested, “Wake uuuup. Ash, wake up, now.” Ash grumbled and his arm shot out to try to grab the coffee but missed. Eiji laughed. “You are useless in the morning. Come into the kitchen if you want coffee. Max and Ibe-san are here to see you.”

Ash scrunched up his face and tried to burrow deeper into the blankets, so Eiji smacked him lightly on the ass and grinned at the yelp that resulted. Ash lifted his head and opened his eyes for the first time to glare at him. Eiji waved the coffee tantalizingly once more and left the room. He knew Ash would follow him.

He barely had time to sit back down at the table and wave to Yuuko—who had also been woken up by the noise in the kitchen—before Ash entered the room and plopped himself down directly in Eiji’s lap.

“Ash! I’m holding coffee!” He complained, trying not to spill the hot drink all over them.

“Give it,” Ash responded, reaching out with grabby hands. This time, Eiji let him have it. He started drinking it without opening his eyes.

“I see you’ve made yourself at home, son,” Max said, resting his head on his hand and grinning at the scene in front of him.

 _“Is that his father?_ ” Yuuko whispered to Takashi. Ibe laughed.

“What?” Max asked, defensively. “Why are you laughing at me.”

“She asked if you were Ash’s dad,” Eiji explained. Max looked affronted that Yukko had thought he was old enough to be Ash’s father. Ash snorted into his coffee.

“Ah! Hot coffee! Up my nose!” He exclaimed with a yelp, jumping up and swiping at his face. In the process he let go of the coffee cup and it went tumbling directly into Eiji’s lap.

“Ahhhh! _Hot hot hot hot_!”

…

Hours later, after Ash and Eiji had taken a shower—separately—and Ibe and Max had left, Eiji was cooking.

“I should cook only Natto. Payback for the hot coffee,” Eiji threatened as he stirred the rice. From where he was sitting at the kitchen table reading a Japanese textbook, Ash looked up to glare at his back.

“I’m trying to learn your convoluted language. You could be nicer to me,” He grumbled.

“You are staying in my house. You should be more nice to me.”

“Hey! I want to start helping pay rent,” Ash exclaimed, smacking his hand on the table in frustration. He glared down at the kanji he’d been memorizing until the characters started to blur, his fingers clenching into fists until his knuckles turned white. “I can’t get a job here until I learn Japanese well enough!”

He heard Eiji sigh, followed by the click of the stove top being turned off. Eiji walked over and forced his way into Ash’s line of sight, stroking his hand over Ash’s head like he was petting a fussy cat. It worked completely. All the tension in Ash’s body melted out of him, sloughing off his spine and dripping out his toes onto the floor. He turned in his chair and leaned his forehead against Eiji’s chest with a heavy sigh.

 _“Excuse me,”_ Yuuko’s quiet voice interrupted their moment. Ash stiffened and pulled away, his fingers twisting into the fabric of Eiji’s shirt as he turned to look at her.

 _“Dinner is almost ready,”_ Eiji told her. Ash understood the word for dinner and extrapolated from there. His listening comprehension was improving in even the short day or so that he had been surrounded by native speakers.

 _“No,”_ Yuuko denied, _“My mother knows a teacher. She could help teach him Japanese.”_ She turned to Ash and tried again, in English, “Teacher… English Teacher… She teach you.”

“Really?” Ash asked, letting go of Eiji’s shirt. “But I don’t have any money.”

“No money? I ask… work her store…yes?”

“Yes!” Ash agreed. “I can work! Will you tell her for me?” She looked at Eiji and he repeated Ash’s request in Japanese. She nodded and ran back out of the room with a smile. Yuuko was nice but a little shy. Ash hoped that he would get to know her better once they’d overcome the language barrier.

“There. Now you won’t be bored,” Eiji told him over his shoulder, walking back to the stove, “and you stay out from under feet while I work on my photographs.”

Ash threw his textbook at him.

…

The envelope arrived when Ash was out to Japanese lessons two weeks later. It was unmarked: no sender, no address. Inside it were pictures—pictures of Ash.

Eiji felt bile rise up his throat and burn acidly. He violently shoved the photographs back in the envelope and looked around. There wasn’t anyone on the street in the immediate vicinity; he wasn’t sure what he would have done if there was. Crumpling the envelope up into a ball, he went inside. He hated that he even had to bring the offending object over the threshold of his home.

He stopped in the kitchen to get a lighter and then headed directly towards the back alleyway where their trash was. It was against the rules to burn compostables. Eiji didn’t care.

He held the envelope over the trash and let it burn, the wringing in his gut finally unclenching as he watched the fire glow.

“You know,” A voice said from behind him. Eiji flinched but forced himself not to jump or whip around, “you are burning your evidence.” Eiji turned slowly. Blanca stared at him from the shadows, calmly. “If someone was blackmailing you or was threatening Ash, those photos were your best evidence to show the police.”

“Ash can handle a dangerous person on his own. He would not want police,” Eiji defended his decision.

“And if you were the one in danger? Wouldn’t Ash want to know?”

“I can handle someone on my own too.”

Blanca stared at him for a long minute in which Eiji didn’t even dare to breathe, and then he reached into his coat and pulled out a gun. He aimed it at Eiji’s forehead and waited, still. Eiji didn’t move. After a moment, Blanca lowered the gun. As he did, Eiji ran towards him and pulled out the kitchen knife he’d hidden in his inside jacket pocket. The lighter hadn’t been all he’d grabbed in the kitchen.

He didn’t so much as scratch Blanca. He disarmed him easily. The man was practically a walking weapon, so this wasn’t a surprise. But, it was clear that Eiji’s actions had, in fact, surprised Blanca.

“Maybe you aren’t hopeless.”

“Why did you send those pictures?” Eiji demanded.

“It was a test. Why did you burn them?” Blanco countered.

“I don’t want Ash to see them. His old life is over. He is moving forward. Did I pass your test?”

“I don’t know if passed is the right word, but you didn’t fail,” He assured, tucking his gun away and tossing Eiji his knife back. Eiji yelped and scrambled to catch it without slicing himself open. He was sure that the result didn’t look very dignified. “You love him, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll be checking in from time to time,” Blanca told him. “Sometimes you’ll know I’m there, sometimes you won’t. Ash never will, per your request to keep his past separate from his present.” He turned to walk away, pausing only to say, “Don’t worry about the photos. Those were the only copies and the police have the negatives in evidence lock up.”

Then, he vanished as quickly as he’d appeared, and Eiji went inside to make some tea. When Ash got home, eager to tell him the new words and grammar he’d learned, Eiji took his hands in his own and, once he was sure that Ash consented, kissed him gently on the mouth. It was the first time since the start of their short relationship that Eiji initiated a kiss and it left both of them blushing happily.

…

“My parents and sister are coming to visit,” Eiji announced one morning about a month later.

Ash, who had taken a shower and was halfway through a cup of coffee but still tired from being kept awake all night by nightmares, took a second to process what Eiji had said to him. When he did, he set his coffee cup down on the table with a heavy clunk.

“Today?” He asked, failing at keeping his voice calm.

“Yes, for lunch.”

“You mean, like, in an hour? And you didn’t think to maybe give me a little warning?”

“Why?” Eiji asked, affecting an innocent look. “Are you scared?”

“I’m not scared of anything!” Ash proclaimed, crossing his arms and turning up his nose.

“Except pumpkins,” Eiji mocked, spoiling his innocent look with a mocking smirk. Ash smacked him on the arm.

“Don’t tell people that, especially your family! It’ll make me look bad.”

“Worried they won’t like you?” Eiji asked, sobering and coming to sit down next to him.

“Worried that they’ll see that I’m not good enough for you.”

“Not possible. You are ‘good enough’,” He said the phrase ‘good enough’ like he was just quoting it back what Ash had said. “You like me, right?”

“Eiji, more than anyone.”

“And I like you. You make me happy. That is ‘good enough’. Besides,” He said, patting Ash on the back of his hand, “I am an adult and can make my own choices. And I choose you!”

Ash took his hands and lifted them to his mouth to kiss his knuckles. His hands were soft. They didn’t have the calluses that his did, from years holding a knife or a gun. Though, in time, he would have some of his own, from cooking and holding a camera, or maybe old injuries from his time pole-vaulting. A knock on the door interrupted them.

“Oh, no! _They’re here early_!” Eiji yelped, jumping up to run to the door.

Ash chugged his coffee and, carefully brushing down his pants, followed after Eiji into the receiving room.

Eiji’s parents looked a lot like Eiji. His father, especially, looked like an older, more crinkled version of EIji. Ash wondered if that was what Eiji would look like at that age. He wondered if he’d be still around to see it. He hoped that he would be. His mother was beautiful, with a shining smile just like Eiji’s.

His sister had the same smile, perhaps even more blinding. The second she spotted him over EIji’s shoulder, she kicked her shoes off and ran straight past Eiji and over to him. Ash flinched back, expecting her to try to hug him, but instead she just got really close to his personal space.

“You are Ash? You are American?” She asked, excitedly. “I am Eiji sister! My name Mari!”

“Uh… _Hello. Nice to meet you. My name is Aslan,”_ He introduced himself carefully in Japanese. The girl squealed in excitement.

 _“You are so handsome Alsan-chan!”_ She told him.

 _“Thank you_.”

 _“His Japanese has gotten very good, yes_ ?” Eiji asked, bringing his parents over. _“Mom, Dad, this is Aslan Callenreese, or Ash. He moved here from America and is staying with us.”_

 _“Nice to meet you.”_ Ash gave them a small bow of respect and they both nodded their heads in acknowledgment. Eiji’s father asked him a question, but it was too quick for Ash to catch. He looked at Eiji, who translated.

“He asked, if you are the boy who I met in America who … changed me,” He said, blushing a bit. Ash smiled and answered in English, but he was looking at Eiji when he spoke.

“He changed me too.”

“Are you single, Aslan-chan?” Mari asked, in English, changing the subject. Eiji’s blush intensified.

“No. I’m not.” Ash smirked at her and then threw a wink at Eiji. He watched, excited, as Eiji screwed up his face and straightened his back. He stomped over to Ash and placed himself between Ash and his sister, taking Ash’s hand in his own.

“Ash is my boyfriend.”

“EH? _You’re dating?”_ Mari gasped, grabbing Eiji’s shoulders and shaking him.

“Yes!?”

“Oh my gosh, _brother! I’m so happy!_ ” She turned to her parents and spoke to them in rapid fire Japanese. Ash heard her use his name and her brother’s but the rest was lost on him.

Eiji father looked at him sharply and motioned for Eiji to come closer, and Eiji went. They spoke in hushed tones for a few moments before Eiji’s parents both came over to face him down. Ash straightened up and tried to look his most respectable.

“You love my son?” He asked, in a thickly accented voice.

“Yes!” Ash answered quickly. He wasn’t sure if ‘love’ was a word he was fully willing to commit to yet, but since they were dealing with a language barrier here, Ash decided it was best to just agree. And, he supposed, that even if it wasn’t a fully romantic type of love yet, he did love Eiji in his own way. He certainly loved him more than he loved anyone else, including himself.

“Take care of him.”

“I promise.”

“Good.” He cracked a smile and his eyes crinkled. Eiji breathed an audible sigh of relief and Ash had to resist teasing him about the speech he’d given about being an adult and not caring about his parent’s opinions. Eiji’s mother said something and, when he looked at Eiji for a translation, he and his sister were smiling.

“What?” He asked.

“She said: ‘welcome to the family’.”  

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to the best discord server ever and my awesome beta reader BaKanda. <3


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